Apple Pie Paleo Granola

First off you guys rock!! Thank you all who commented last week to be my testers. I’m going to try to get some recipes out to some of you who volunteered so I can get your opinion on things. For those who asked what a tester would involve…basically I’ll send over a recipe concept I’m working on for the book and you cook as the recipe (which would be top secret) describes and you report back on the instructions/bake time/taste was all ok. Again testers the recipe is top secret so it can’t be shared with others. I’ll outline everything in email to all of you rock stars that offered to help. Again….thank you, thank you, thank you!! You are all the best readers a girl could ask for.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! The family and I hit the hiking trail this weekend, which is where this granola would have come in handy but of course I forgot it in the car. Which in the end worked out great because we were starving after coming off the trail. So the hike was the first hike for the girls. After all, not many mountains or hiking trails in South Florida. It’s rare you even see much of a hill in Florida. Anyways, 4 miles total on Saturday and this was after a morning soccer game so needless to say we had two tired girls on our hands by the end of Saturday. Which if you are a parent is a beautiful thing! If your not….just wait and trust me for the time being. The hike was awesome, nothing like a sunny fall crisp day. Here we are at the top

It’s hard for me to believe, but this is my first attempt at a Paleo granola. It won’t be my last either! I’m working on a couple for the e-cookbook so stay tuned. But for the next 30-40 days I’m giving up nuts for my Paleo challenge at my gym. I know crazy right, especially since I’m knee deep in recipe testing for the books right now. But a girl needs to challenge her self and it worked early this year when I did the challenge at my last box before the move. By the way I had my first Paleo talk last Friday night to launch our Paleo challenge….I was nervous…like really nervous! I thought I would be ok but I got up there and all of a sudden a wave of nervous energy came over me. I could even hear it in my voice when I started talking. Not cool! Seriously though I was able to get things out and tell everyone how Paleo changed my life and just how awesome it is! I also had some great one on one time with some of the members which was a bit more comfortable for me. I love Paleo and Crossfit! Have a mentioned that before? It truly is a great community of people! Ok, so here you go folks some Paleo granola.

Enjoy!

Apple Pie Paleo Granola

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

7 medjool dates, chopped

1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add nuts, dates, and unsweetened shredded coconut to a bowl of a food processor and pulse to slightly chop nuts. Add spices and salt and pulse again to evenly distribute.

In a bowl whisk together apple sauce, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Place wet ingredient into the bowl of food processor with nut mixture and pulse to combine.

Evenly distribute granola (using fingers) on prepared baking sheet.

Place in oven for 30 to 35 minutes until golden. Stop to stir ingredients halfway through the baking so the edges do not get over brown. It will allow things to cook evenly. The granola will harden up once cooled completely.

I highly suggest keep granola in an airtight container and store in freezer. It keeps the granola fresh and crunchy.

Hi Meghanne,
I know giving up nuts, crazy right? But I did it earlier this year and I dropped inches. There are a lot of different articles I’ve read lately too that confirm cutting nuts down would be helpful. I did see a huge difference when I cut them out on my last paleo challenge. Here is an article from Chris Kresser I thought was interesting: http://chriskresser.com/another-reason-you-shouldnt-go-nuts-on-nuts

Jen, you can leave the dates out but you would need to replace it with a tablespoon maple syrup to add some sweetness. You can also make the banana chocolate Cakies or the double chocolate Cakies. Those both use banana instead of dates.

delicious! but mine only got crispy around the edges and the middle stayed soft? i did end up using 3 tbsp of maple syrup and skipped the dates… any idea why else it didnt crisp up even after completely cooling?

Pam, Did you stop to stir half way through the baking time? This would have helped and also the extra maple syrup might have caused the granola to be cooked slightly longer due to it adding more wetness to the granola. Next time I would suggest stirring halfway through and maybe only add one additional tablespoon of maple syrup and you could add another dried fruit of choice.

I found the coconut in my town, actually; a store just started carrying it. (No one around used to have it.) I would say that unless you have a good processor, don’t put this in a low-end one like I have (think under $40). If you have one like I do, just put the nuts in a zip-lock bag and hammer the buggers slightly. I changed nothing in this recipe. End result: don’t put in oven for 40 minutes because a lot will burn, like it did for me. Bummer. I will still eat it, though. I know, however, the next time I make this, it will be better because I will bake it for 30 minutes.

I am curious about the Paleo diet. I picked up a cookbook on the topic today at the library and will start learning tonight. I know nothing about it, so anything you can tell me would be appreciated:-)

Wow!! Thank you so much for posting this. It’s AMAZING!! I made it last night. I actually used different nuts as I didn’t have all the ones you said – I used cashews and hazelnuts instead of walnuts. I think I will try different proportions of different nuts and seeds each time I make it for variety. But seriously, this is the best snack recipe I have made since starting the SCD diet four months ago. My husband and I love it, and even my little boy who is the fussiest eater ever tried a bit and liked it (I really hope he keeps eating it as he eats way too many grains). I’m going to make this and put in nice boxes or bags and give as gifts for members of my family as I think they will be very pleasantly surprised at how yummy the food is I can eat on this diet!! Just wanted to leave a note to say thank you, I don’t normally, but this recipe is exceptional.

Hi, I have made this recipe twice and I LOVE the flavor. Is the picture above a picture of this granola? I am wondering how you got chunks like that, mine tends to be more like grated looking (can’t think of the right word).. either way, it’s delicious! I find, for myself, that baking for 30 min works for me, turning the granola over half way through baking. When I cooked it the first time, I did it for 40 and I burned it slightly. Thanks again!

The flavor was amazing but mine stayed a little on the softer side. I stirred halfway through and the ends got crispy but not the middle. I think it may have been because I used honey in place of the maple syrup because I was out of syrup. Do you think that would have caused it to not harden?

Ok – I saw this recipe and thought – darn I wish my kids (3 & 5) would eat that!!! (they are picky eaters and decidely NOT paleo). I decided to make some for my sister (both she and I are paleo), and had some leftover… Just on whim I put some out with last nights supper – my kids gobbled it up! They LOVED it! Keep the awesome recipes coming!!

For a nut free version maybe you could use banana chips (cracked up) instead of nuts (they are hard as rocks) for your crunch. With pumpkin and sunflower seeds, maybe some hemp seeds too. Are you giving up seeds?

Actually the opposite. You don’t want to over process the nuts but a in between. And make sure to not over stir and place chunks on the baking sheets before baking. I have also heard some readers that mix in a egg white before baking it they say it allows for the granola to have more of those “chunks” and even to be a little more crispy. I’ve never tried that though.

This looks wonderful! Any suggestions on good substitutes for pecans and walnuts – my daughter is allergic to both, but she is not allergic to any other nuts…we just have to be careful of cross contamination. Thank you!

Thanks for posting this recipe. My almost 9 year old daughter and I have been on the GAPS Diet journey for 20 months. We limit fruits and honey sweetened treats. So most of the time, her breakfast has been a couple of sunny side up eggs. As she is getting to the point of transitioning to a more varied, but still traditional style diet, I’ve been looking to loosen up a bit and find some other breakfast options for her, even if they include some small amount of fruit or honey (our substitute for maple syrup). I just made a different granola recipe for the first time and it was a huge hit. I plan on having her eat that once or twice a week for breakfast. When that batch is used up, I can’t wait to try your apple granola recipe. Most of the recipes for granola are pretty similar. But this apple one looks like it will definitely add flavor and be different. Thanks!!!

We made the granola this morning. House smelled amazing and everyone loved it. Took it a step further after dinner and topped some pan fried apples with the granola. Added a drizzle of coconut milk. Super good. Thanks for the recipe!

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Hi I'm Heather, the voice and girl behind Multiply Delicious, a blog where I share my passion for cooking and baking Paleo. I'm a certified Holistic Nutritionist and committed to educating others on how Paleo can help to live a healthier lifestyle.